The 6 Best Chainsaws of 2026 (Buy the Chaps With the Saw)

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Our quick picks

Ranked by what each one is best at, not by a score we made up. Ratings are what the product showed on Amazon when we last checked — how we rank.

The rest of this page is the reasoning, the relevant specifications and the drawbacks.

A chainsaw is the only tool most homeowners will ever buy that can seriously injure them in under a second, and the single most useful thing this guide can tell you is that the protective gear matters more than which saw you choose.

Chainsaw chaps — the trousers or leg coverings filled with long loose cut-retardant fibers — work by jamming the chain. When the moving chain contacts them, it pulls out fibers that wrap around the drive sprocket and stop it, typically in a fraction of a second. Leg injuries are among the most common serious chainsaw injuries, and chaps cost a small fraction of what any saw on this page costs. Buying a saw without them is the mistake, not buying the cheaper saw.

The second most useful thing: a sharp chain is a safety feature. A sharp chain pulls itself into the wood and you guide it. A dull chain has to be pushed, which means force, fatigue, and a bar that skips and jumps — which is how kickback happens. People buy bigger saws to solve problems that a cheap chain file and ten minutes would have fixed.

Below are six saws covering different jobs: cordless for most homeowners, a gas saw for volume work, a corded saw for near the house, and a light one for people who find full-size saws unmanageable. Before any of that, though, a safety section, because this is the one category on this site where we would rather you read that part than the recommendations. If you are clearing a yard, our guides to the best leaf blowers and the best fire pits cover what comes next.

Quick picks

• Best overall: EGO POWER+ 16” 56V — enough power for real firewood work with no fuel mixing, and a tool-free chain tensioner.
• Best for existing tool owners and light professional use: Makita XCU11Z 18V LXT — 14” bar, very low noise, and it runs on batteries you may already have.
• Best gas saw for homeowners: Husqvarna 120 Mark III — 38cc with an air purge system that makes starting far less of a fight than gas saws used to be.
• Best value cordless: WORX WG384 40V 14” — automatic chain tensioning and a quick-stop chain brake at a sensible price.
• Best corded: CRAFTSMAN 16” 12-amp — unlimited runtime, no batteries and no fuel, for work within reach of an outlet.
• Best lightweight full-size saw: Greenworks 60V 16” — around 12.5 pounds, for anyone who finds a gas saw too heavy to control comfortably.

Read this first: chainsaw safety

This is not a legal disclaimer section. Chainsaw injuries are common, frequently severe, and mostly caused by a small number of predictable things. Nothing here replaces your saw’s manual, formal training, or the judgement to call a professional — and if you have not used a chainsaw before, a local class or an afternoon with someone experienced is worth more than anything written here.

The protective equipment, in order of importance

• Chainsaw chaps or cut-retardant trousers. The most important item. They stop the chain by clogging the sprocket with loose fibers. Buy them at the same time as the saw, not later. Note that they are single-use in the sense that once cut they must be replaced.
• A helmet with a mesh face screen and ear defenders. A combination forestry helmet does all three. Falling branches, flying chips and noise are all constant, and chainsaws are loud enough to damage hearing over a single afternoon.
• Safety glasses under the mesh screen, because mesh stops chips and not dust.
• Gloves with good grip, ideally with cut protection on the back of the left hand.
• Steel or composite toe boots, ideally chainsaw-rated. Ordinary trainers are a bad idea around a running saw.
• Close-fitting clothing. Nothing loose, no dangling cords, long hair tied back.

Kickback: what it is and how to avoid it

Kickback is the saw being thrown violently back and up toward you, and it is the mechanism behind a large share of serious injuries. It happens when the wood contacts the upper quadrant of the bar nose — the tip, on the top side. The chain there is traveling in a direction that cannot cut, so instead of cutting it levers the saw back at you, fast.

• Never cut with the nose of the bar. Be conscious of where the tip is at all times, including when it is out of sight behind the log you are cutting.
• Use both hands, always, with your left thumb wrapped fully around the front handle. A thumb resting on top gives the saw a pivot to escape around.
• Stand to the side of the cutting line, not directly behind the saw, and keep your left elbow slightly locked so the handle cannot swing into your face.
• Check the chain brake works before every session. Push the front handguard forward and confirm the chain stops. On a kickback it is what saves you.
• Use low-kickback chains and reduced-kickback bars on a homeowner saw. They cut marginally slower and they are the right trade.
• Keep the chain sharp and correctly tensioned. Dull chains skip and grab; loose chains derail.
• Never cut above shoulder height, and never use a chainsaw from a ladder. Both remove your ability to control a kickback. Overhead work is what pole saws and professionals are for.

Cutting wood that is under tension

This is the part that catches experienced people. A branch or trunk that is bent, propped, leaning or pinned holds stored energy, and cutting it releases that energy unpredictably. Storm damage is the classic case: a tangle of fallen limbs is a set of loaded springs.

• Read the bind before you cut. A log supported at both ends is in compression on top and tension underneath; one supported in the middle or at one end is the reverse. Cutting the tension side first causes the cut to close and pinch your bar, and can throw the piece.
• Expect the piece to move. Plan where you will stand and where your feet will go, and never straddle the thing you are cutting.
• Leave leaning trees, hung-up limbs and anything near a structure or a power line alone. These kill professionals who do them for a living. A tree service quote is far cheaper than the alternative.
• Watch for widowmakers — broken branches hanging in the canopy above you. Look up before you start and periodically while you work.
• Felling is a separate skill. Hinge, notch, escape route, lean, wind, rot. If you have not been taught it, do not learn it on a tree near your house.

General operating discipline

• Do not cut alone if you can avoid it, and if you must, tell someone where you are and carry a charged phone in a pocket rather than in the truck.
• Keep a first aid kit within reach, and know that a serious bleed needs direct pressure and an ambulance, not a plaster.
• Never operate a chainsaw tired, or after any alcohol. Fatigue is when grip slips and judgement goes.
• Stop the saw to walk more than a step or two, and carry it with the bar behind you and the chain brake on.
• On cordless saws, remove the battery before touching the chain, tensioning, or clearing a jam. On gas saws, switch off and let it stop completely.
• Refuel a hot gas saw away from where you will work, on bare ground, with the engine off and cool. Gasoline vapor and a hot muffler are a genuine fire risk.
• Keep bystanders, children and pets well clear — further than feels necessary. Chips and thrown pieces travel.

What we looked at

We built this list from current Amazon listings, manufacturer specifications and the recurring patterns in verified buyer feedback. We have not felled trees with each of these saws and we are not going to imply we ran timed cutting tests. What we did was assess each saw against the things that determine whether it is a good tool: bar length matched to a sensible job, chain brake and low-kickback provision, chain tensioning mechanism, oiling system, weight, and platform — because a cordless saw is a purchase of a battery ecosystem as much as a tool.

We weighted heavily against recurring reports of chain oilers that do not oil, tensioners that will not hold, and battery platforms with poor runtime under real load. We weighted in favor of tool-free tensioning, visible oil level windows, and brands whose bars and chains are easy to buy locally — because you will buy chains.

Every pick holds a customer rating of 4.3 stars or better. One note on ratings in this category: a saw can attract poor reviews because buyers ran it with a dull chain, no oil, or a bar longer than the motor can drive, and that is a usage problem rather than a product problem. We read the complaints for what they actually described.

What to know before you buy

Bar length: shorter is usually the right answer

The instinct is to buy the longest bar available, and it is the wrong instinct. A bar should be a couple of inches longer than the widest thing you routinely cut, and no more.

• 10 to 12 inches: pruning, limbing, small branches, storm cleanup. Light and very controllable.
• 14 to 16 inches: the homeowner sweet spot. Firewood rounds, fallen limbs, small trees. This is where almost everyone should be.
• 18 to 20 inches: larger firewood and small felling, and it needs a really powerful saw to drive it.
• 20 inches and up: professional felling territory, and a heavy saw you will regret carrying.

A long bar on an underpowered saw is the worst combination: the chain slows in the cut, it heats, it dulls, it grabs. Matching bar length to engine or motor output matters more than the number of inches. And a longer bar means more exposed cutting edge, which means more ways to hurt yourself.

Gas, cordless or corded?

This choice has truly changed in the last few years, and the old answer is no longer automatic.

• Cordless is now the right answer for most homeowners. No fuel mixing, no carburettors gumming up over winter, instant starting, far less noise and no exhaust in your face. Modern high-voltage platforms cut comparably to small gas saws. The limits are runtime — you are working in battery-length sessions — and that sustained heavy cutting drains batteries fast.
• Gas still wins for volume. If you are cutting a winter’s worth of firewood, working away from power, or running the saw for hours, a gas saw keeps going as long as you keep pouring. The costs are maintenance (fuel mix, carburettor, air filter, spark plug), weight, vibration, noise, and the fact that a gas saw left with fuel in it over a winter frequently will not start in spring.
• Corded electric is the overlooked option and it is good for some people. Unlimited runtime, the lowest price, the least maintenance of anything here, and it does not care how long the job takes. The constraint is obvious: you are tethered, and a heavy-gauge extension cord near a running chainsaw needs managing carefully.

The battery platform is most of the decision

If you buy cordless, understand that you are buying into a battery system. A saw is one of the most power-hungry tools on any platform, so the batteries that came with your drill will not last long in it — you want the largest capacity packs the platform offers, and probably two of them.

Voltage is a rough proxy for capability: 18V and 20V platforms handle pruning and light limbing well, while 40V, 56V and 60V platforms are where genuine firewood cutting lives. If you already own tools on a capable platform, buying the bare tool is the obvious economy. If you do not, count the cost of the kit with batteries and a charger, not the bare tool price, when comparing against gas.

Chain tensioning and oiling: the two mechanisms that matter

Tool-free tensioning — a knob or dial instead of a wrench and a screwdriver — sounds like a convenience and is actually a safety feature, because chains stretch as they warm and people who need tools to adjust them simply do not bother. A correctly tensioned chain should have its drive links just visible when you pull it away from the bar underneath, and should snap back flush. Too loose and it can derail; too tight and it overheats and wears the bar rails.

Automatic oiling is standard now, and what varies is whether you can see the oil level and whether the pump is adjustable. An oil window is worth having, because running a chain dry ruins the bar and chain quickly and the first sign is usually smoke. Check the level every time you refuel or change a battery, and use bar and chain oil rather than motor oil — it is formulated to cling at high speed rather than fling off.

Sharpening is the skill that makes any saw good

A chain is sharp for a surprisingly short time, and touching up a chain takes a few minutes with a round file and a guide. The signs your chain is dull: it produces fine dust instead of chips, it needs pushing, it cuts at an angle, or the saw smokes.

Learning to file a chain is the highest-value skill in this guide. Two or three light passes on each tooth at the correct angle, every couple of tanks or battery packs, keeps the saw cutting like new and dramatically reduces both effort and kickback risk. A bench or drill-mounted sharpener is an alternative, and carrying two chains so you can swap and sharpen at leisure is what most experienced users do.

The 6 best chainsaws

1. EGO POWER+ 16” 56V — best overall

EGO built its reputation on making battery outdoor tools that behave like the gas ones they replace rather than like scaled-up drills, and this saw is the clearest case. A 16-inch bar on a 56-volt platform, with EGO quoting up to 130 cuts through a four-by-four on the included 2.5Ah battery — a figure that translates in practice to a genuine session of firewood cutting rather than a few branches.

The tool-free chain tensioning system is the detail that matters most in daily use. Chains stretch as they heat, and a saw you can retension with a knob in ten seconds gets retensioned; one that needs a bar wrench does not. EGO’s battery platform is also broad enough that the batteries carry over to mowers, blowers and trimmers, which changes the value calculation if you are building a set of tools. Customer rating is 4.6 stars.

Why it made the list: it is the saw that makes cordless the default rather than the compromise. Enough power for real work, no fuel or carburettor to maintain, instant starting after a winter in the shed, and a tensioner you will actually use. For the great majority of homeowners this is the right purchase.

The downside: sustained heavy cutting drains batteries much faster than the quoted cut counts suggest — those figures are for small repeated cuts, not for bucking a large trunk. If you are cutting for hours, budget for a second high-capacity battery or accept working in sessions. The 56V platform is proprietary, so you are committing to EGO for future tools. It is heavier than the Greenworks pick below. And as with any battery saw, cold weather reduces capacity noticeably, which is inconvenient given that firewood season and cold weather are the same season.

Who it is for: most homeowners, anyone with firewood to cut but not a business to run, anyone tired of gas maintenance, and anyone already on or considering the EGO platform.

See the EGO POWER+ 16” chainsaw on Amazon →

2. Makita XCU11Z 18V LXT — best for existing tool owners

This is the pick that makes sense for a specific and very large group: people who already own Makita 18V LXT batteries. The XCU11Z is sold as a bare tool, takes the same packs as your drill and impact driver, and turns a platform you already own into a capable 14-inch saw without buying another charger or another battery standard.

It is also an actually well-made tool in its own right. Brushless, notably quiet — Makita emphasises low noise levels and it is the least antisocial saw here — with a compact rear-handle body that is easy to maneuver in a hedge or among fallen branches. Makita’s build quality and service network are reasons professionals buy the brand. Customer rating is 4.6 stars.

Why it made the list: low noise is underrated. A saw quiet enough to use on a Sunday morning without annoying a neighborhood, and light enough to hold at awkward angles for limbing, gets used for jobs a gas saw does not get dragged out for. The platform argument is the clincher for anyone with Makita tools already.

What you give up: it is an 18V tool, and 18V is the lighter end of cordless cutting — this is a limbing and small-firewood saw, not a felling saw, and asking it to push through a large hardwood round will be slow and hard on the battery. It is sold bare, so if you do not own the batteries the total cost rises sharply and the EGO becomes better value. Runtime on standard-capacity packs is short; use the largest packs you have. And a 14-inch bar on an 18V motor wants a sharp chain more than most — a dull chain will stall it.

Who it is for: existing Makita 18V owners, tradespeople who need a saw occasionally, anyone limbing and pruning rather than felling, and anyone who cares about noise.

See the Makita XCU11Z on Amazon →

3. Husqvarna 120 Mark III — best gas saw for homeowners

If you are cutting a winter’s worth of firewood, working somewhere with no power, or running a saw for hours at a time, gas still wins and no amount of battery marketing changes that. Husqvarna is one of the two names that matter in chainsaws, and the 120 Mark III is its homeowner saw: a 38cc two-stroke on a 16-inch bar, which is exactly the right combination for firewood and storm cleanup.

Husqvarna’s X-Torq engine design reduces fuel consumption and exhaust emissions compared with a conventional two-stroke, and the air purge plus combined choke and stop control addresses the thing everyone hates about gas saws, which is the starting ritual. Husqvarna dealers are everywhere, which means parts and service. Customer rating is 5.0 stars — the highest here, though on a smaller review base than the established cordless saws, so weigh it accordingly rather than treating it as a larger sample would deserve.

Why it made the list: it is the sensible gas saw. 38cc and 16 inches is the configuration that actually suits homeowner firewood work, from a manufacturer with real dealer support, with the starting mechanism modernised. For volume cutting away from an outlet, this is the tool.

The part that annoys people: gas saws demand maintenance, and the number one cause of a dead homeowner saw is fuel left in it over winter. Ethanol-blended gasoline degrades and gums carburettors; use fresh fuel with the correct two-stroke oil ratio, run it dry or use fuel stabiliser before storage, and expect to clean an air filter and change a spark plug periodically. It is heavier and vibrates considerably more than any cordless saw here, which matters over a long session. It is loud enough that hearing protection is mandatory rather than advisable. And the 120 is Husqvarna’s entry saw, not a professional one — its stablemates higher up the range are built for daily use and cost accordingly.

Who it is for: firewood in volume, properties with no power, long sessions, and anyone who wants a saw that does not stop when a battery does.

See the Husqvarna 120 Mark III on Amazon →

4. WORX WG384 40V 14” — best value cordless

WORX has a habit of putting one clever feature on a value tool, and here it is automatic chain tensioning: the saw maintains its own chain tension rather than asking you to remember. Given that under-tensioned chains derail and over-tensioned chains destroy bars, and given that most homeowners check tension approximately never, automating it is a real safety and durability benefit rather than a convenience.

It also has a quick-stop chain brake, a brushless motor, and it runs on WORX Power Share, so the batteries are shared with the rest of the WORX range. At 14 inches it is sized for limbing and moderate firewood. Customer rating is 4.5 stars.

Why it made the list: it is the pick for someone who wants a capable cordless saw without the EGO price, and the auto-tensioning specifically suits the buyer who is not going to fuss over maintenance. For occasional storm cleanup and moderate firewood work, it does the job at a price that does not require deliberation.

Where it disappoints: automatic tensioning is a mechanism, and mechanisms can go out of adjustment or fail — some owners report needing to reset or fiddle with it, so it reduces rather than eliminates chain attention. 40V puts it below the EGO and Greenworks in raw cutting power, so large hardwood rounds will be slow. The WORX platform is broad but its tools are generally aimed at homeowners rather than trades, so if you want professional-grade tools later it is not the ecosystem to invest in. And bar and chain availability for it is less universal than for Oregon-standard fitments, so buy a spare chain when you buy the saw.

Who it is for: occasional users, storm cleanup, moderate firewood, existing WORX owners, and anyone who wants the maintenance minimized.

See the WORX WG384 on Amazon →

5. CRAFTSMAN 16” 12-Amp Corded — best corded

Corded chainsaws get overlooked and for a specific set of jobs they are the most sensible thing you can buy. A 12-amp motor on a 16-inch bar, with unlimited runtime, no fuel, no batteries, no charger, no carburettor and no winter storage ritual. Plug it in and it works, for as long as the job takes.

It has a low-kickback bar and chain, automatic oiling with a visible oil window, and no priming required. For cutting up a fallen limb in the garden, processing firewood beside the house, or working through a pile of branches at a steady pace, the tether is a smaller inconvenience than most people assume. Customer rating is 4.4 stars.

Why it made the list: because for work within reach of an outlet it removes every ongoing cost and every reliability variable in this category. It is also by a clear margin the cheapest route to a capable 16-inch saw, and the right recommendation for someone who needs a saw twice a year and does not want to maintain a battery or an engine between those two occasions.

The drawbacks: the cord is a genuine hazard around a running chainsaw and needs managing deliberately — keep it behind you, over a shoulder, away from the cutting line, and never let it loop where the bar can reach it. You need a heavy-gauge outdoor extension cord of the correct rating; a thin one causes voltage drop, which makes the motor run hot and cut poorly. It has less power than the gas and high-voltage cordless saws, so deep cuts in hardwood are slow. Corded motors also lack the torque to recover from a bind as well as a gas saw does, so let it cut at its own pace. And it is useless anywhere without power, which for storm cleanup after an outage is exactly the wrong limitation.

Who it is for: garden and near-house work, occasional users, anyone who wants zero maintenance, and anyone who would rather not own another battery platform.

See the CRAFTSMAN 16” corded chainsaw on Amazon →

6. Greenworks 60V 16” — best lightweight full-size saw

Weight is a safety factor with a chainsaw, not just a comfort one. A saw you can hold steadily at the end of an hour is a saw you are in control of; a saw that has become too heavy to position precisely is how the bar ends up somewhere it should not be. At around 12.5 pounds, Greenworks quotes this as roughly half the weight of a comparable gas saw, and that difference is felt within minutes.

It is a 60-volt brushless saw with a quoted chain speed of 66 feet per second on a 16-inch bar, and it starts with a two-finger press — no choke, no pull cord, no ritual. Customer rating is 4.3 stars.

Why it made the list: it is the pick for anyone who has found full-size saws physically difficult — smaller users, older users, anyone with a shoulder or back problem, or anyone doing overhead-adjacent work where control matters most. A 60V platform means it is a proper saw rather than a light-duty one, so you are not trading capability for the weight saving.

The catch: at 4.3 stars it has the lowest rating here, with complaints clustering around chain oiling and around batteries underperforming in sustained cuts, so check the oil level religiously and expect to buy a second high-capacity pack. Light weight also means less mass to absorb vibration and to steady the saw in a cut, which some users find makes it feel less planted than a heavier saw. The Greenworks 60V platform is broad but its tools are homeowner-grade. And as with all cordless saws, cold reduces battery capacity meaningfully.

Who it is for: anyone who finds gas saws too heavy, smaller or older users, people doing a lot of limbing at awkward angles, and anyone prioritizing control over runtime.

See the Greenworks 60V 16” chainsaw on Amazon →

What to buy alongside the saw

Budget for these at the same time. The saw alone is an incomplete purchase.

• Chainsaw chaps and a forestry helmet. Not optional. The most important money you will spend on this project.
• A spare chain. Chains dull, and occasionally a chain hits dirt or a nail and is done. Having a second one means the job continues.
• A round file and guide, or a sharpener. The skill that keeps every saw cutting well.
• Bar and chain oil. Not motor oil. Buy more than you think; a saw uses it steadily.
• A scrench or the correct bar wrench, even on tool-free saws, for bar removal and cleaning.
• Felling wedges or a plastic wedge, which stop a cut closing and pinching the bar — useful and often forgotten.
• For gas: fresh fuel, the correct two-stroke oil and a stabiliser, plus a spare spark plug and air filter.
• For cordless: a second high-capacity battery. One battery means working in short sessions.

Maintenance that keeps a saw working

• Check chain tension when the saw is cool, before every session, and again once it has warmed up. Drive links just visible, snapping back flush.
• Check the oil level every refuel or battery change. Smoke from the bar means it is running dry, and a dry bar is ruined quickly.
• Clean the bar groove and the oil hole. Sawdust packs into both and stops oil reaching the chain. A flat screwdriver or a bar groove cleaner does it in a minute.
• Flip the bar periodically to even out rail wear, if your bar is symmetrical.
• File the chain every couple of tanks or batteries, not when it stops cutting altogether.
• Clean the air filter on gas saws after every few uses, more often in dusty conditions.
• Store gas saws empty or stabilised, and store all saws with the chain brake on and a scabbard over the bar.
• Store batteries at partial charge in a cool dry place, not fully drained and not in a freezing shed.

Easy mistakes to make

• Buying the saw and skipping the chaps. The one mistake on this page that can cost you a leg.
• Buying the longest bar available. A long bar on an underpowered saw cuts worse and is harder to control.
• Cutting with a dull chain. More effort, more heat, more kickback risk, and it is the easiest thing to fix.
• Cutting with the nose of the bar. The direct cause of kickback.
• Working above shoulder height or from a ladder. Neither leaves you able to control the saw.
• Taking on a leaning tree, a hung-up limb, or anything near a structure or power line. Call a professional; this is what they are for.
• Leaving fuel in a gas saw over winter. The most common reason a homeowner gas saw will not start in spring.
• Using motor oil as bar oil. It flings off instead of clinging, and the bar pays for it.
• Running one battery and no spare. You will stop halfway through the job.

Frequently asked questions

What size chainsaw do I need?

Choose a bar a couple of inches longer than the widest thing you regularly cut. For most homeowners that means 14 to 16 inches, which covers firewood rounds, fallen limbs and small trees. Go to 10 or 12 inches if you are mainly pruning. Only go beyond 18 inches if you are really felling larger trees and are prepared for a heavy saw, and pair any long bar with a powerful engine or motor.

Is a battery chainsaw powerful enough for firewood?

On a high-voltage platform — 56V or 60V with a large battery — yes, comfortably, for typical firewood rounds. What you get instead of a fuel limit is a runtime limit, so you work in battery-length sessions and want at least two packs. If you are processing several cords a year, gas remains the more practical tool. For a few trees’ worth of firewood and storm cleanup, cordless is now the better choice for most people.

Do I really need chainsaw chaps?

Yes. Leg injuries are among the most common serious chainsaw injuries, chaps stop the chain within a fraction of a second by clogging the sprocket, and they cost a small fraction of any saw here. If the budget is tight, buy a cheaper saw and proper chaps rather than a better saw and jeans. Note that once chaps have been cut they must be replaced rather than repaired.

How often should I sharpen the chain?

More often than you think — a light touch-up every couple of tanks of fuel or battery packs keeps a chain cutting properly, and it takes a few minutes. The signs it is overdue: fine dust instead of coarse chips, needing to push the saw, cuts wandering off square, or smoke. Hitting dirt, a rock or a nail dulls a chain instantly, so after that, sharpen before continuing.

What is kickback and can I prevent it?

Kickback is the saw being thrown back and up at you, caused by the upper quadrant of the bar nose contacting wood. You reduce the risk substantially by never cutting with the tip, keeping both hands on the saw with your left thumb wrapped around the front handle, standing to the side of the cutting line, keeping the chain sharp and properly tensioned, and using low-kickback chains. Check the chain brake works before every session, because that is what stops the chain if kickback happens anyway.

Can I use a chainsaw to fell a tree in my garden?

Only if you have been trained, the tree is small, there is nothing it can damage in any direction it might fall, and you have a clear escape route. Felling involves reading lean, rot and wind, cutting a hinge accurately, and being right about all of it the first time. Trees near houses, fences, cars or power lines, and anything leaning or storm-damaged, should go to a tree service. Professionals are injured doing this work; it is not a job to learn on your own property.

What oil goes in a chainsaw?

Two different oils, and mixing them up is a common and expensive error. Bar and chain oil goes in the bar oil reservoir on every saw, gas or electric — it is formulated to be tacky so it stays on a chain at high speed. Two-stroke oil is mixed with gasoline at the ratio in the manual, and only on gas saws. Never put fuel mix in the oil reservoir or bar oil in the fuel tank.

Why does my chain keep coming off?

Almost always tension, wear, or a damaged bar. Check tension when cool and again warm; inspect the bar rails for spread or uneven wear; check the drive sprocket for wear; and make sure the chain is the correct pitch and gauge for the bar. A chain that derails repeatedly on a correctly tensioned, undamaged bar usually means the bar or sprocket is worn out and needs replacing.

Short version

For most homeowners the answer is the EGO POWER+ 16-inch. It has enough power for real firewood work, starts instantly after months in a shed, needs no fuel or carburettor maintenance, and its tool-free tensioner is the kind of feature you use rather than admire.

If you already own Makita 18V batteries, the Makita XCU11Z is the obvious economy and the quietest saw here. If you are cutting firewood in volume or working away from power, the Husqvarna 120 Mark III is the sensible gas choice with dealer support behind it. On a tighter budget, the WORX WG384 and its automatic tensioning suits the buyer who will not fuss over maintenance.

For work near the house with zero ongoing cost, the CRAFTSMAN corded 16-inch is actually the smart purchase. And if weight is what has put you off chainsaws, the Greenworks 60V at around 12.5 pounds is a full-size saw you can still control at the end of an hour.

Whichever you buy, buy chaps and a forestry helmet with it, buy a spare chain, and learn to file. Those three things will do more for both your safety and your results than any upgrade from one saw on this list to another. And when you find yourself looking up at a leaning tree wondering whether you can manage it, the answer is to get a quote instead.

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